How A $300 Camera Could Change The Movie Industry

What if you could shoot 1080p video for just $300 with a camera that was waterproof, basically indestructible, and so small and light it could be mounted anywhere? What if that camera could also shoot 60fps for amazing slow motion? This camera is the GoPro HD and we own 2 of them. Watch this video and then check out the previous post. I'm not saying that the GoPro is better than a pro film camera, but it does bring up an interesting debate. Which style of video do you like more and why?

14 Comments

I have a hard time picking my favorite style of video. I love the beautiful cinematography of the classic style of shooting but it's hard to beat the amazing angles and POV shots that the GoPro can provide.

I believe this camera does not suit the typical type of cinematography with shallow depth of fields and so on but the GoPro camera can really do well for such things as action scenes and other high impact point of view shots.

I've owned one, and enjoyed it. I used it for countless situations from autox to wide angle site seeing adventures. I've even used it for live streaming. If you do get it, it doesn't shoot well at night, it's best for daylight. And, the replaceable lens can get scratched rather easily. But, it's definitely a bang for the buck.

I think the camera would be a great addition to any videographers bag of tricks as quality and versatility are great, however i have to know where you got that killer soundtrack from, who is the artist/s?

Nothing new here folks. They were mounting 35mm and 16mm film cameras on helmets in the 1960s. Ever seen any sky diving footage from the pre-digital days?I started using Panasonic Lip-Stick-Cameras in the late 1980s on motorcycle and car mounts that fed a BetaCam recorder through a cable. For a Ski Movie they could have carried the recorder in a back pack.Now-a-days you could use a Iconix 2K 4:4:4 video 2048x1080 @ 23.98 http://www.iconixvideo.com/index.html if you wanted the best quality small package digital camera. For Television I'd use the Iconix and for web only the GoPro or a Contour HD http://contour.com/ would be fine.

The main thing that the GoPro, Contour HD and Flip have done is to lower the cost of entry for hobbyists and also for company use on the web. The Flip HD footage looks fine on a 27" monitor.I don't think Warren Miller will be getting rid of his Arri SR cameras.Here's the trailer for the Robert Redford movie "Downhill Racer (1969) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-OU7xHYF_Y

While there are other options for doing what the GoPRO does, this is a very low price point for achieving this Point Of View type of video. For someone like me that is just beginning to do video and is by no means a professional, $300 to get started is a steal. Yeah, the Iconix is vastly superior is video quality, but at $8k for just the camera, way out of my league budget-wise. I just ordered one along with a second battery, a bike mount and a Kensington 32GB memory card. All that on my doorstep for $400. And I'll have it in time to take it skiing with the grandkids on Sunday. Gonna put the clamp on a ski pole for a while, then put on the headstrap. Should make for some interesting video. Now I just have to decide if I want to do 1080/30 or 720/60. 1080 obviously looks good on a 46 inch TV, but so does a slo-mo segment when the 60 fps is slowed down. Guess I'll have to read the manual and see how difficult it will be to switch between the two. Maybe shoot hi-quality in the morning and then switch to hi-speed/slo-mo after lunch. This should be FUN!

I just sat here and watched this video I don't know a lot about cameras But this one is excellent the picture quality is movie production great. And u must Be one heck of a Photographer. If I ever get married again I'm sending u a personal request to photograph or video photograph or both Lol LaTisa I know Um behind the 8 ball on this one but I had to make a comment. It is excellent